Nairobi/Juba, Sep 22 (DPA) The UN Tuesday said it was concerned at the deterioration of security in Southern Sudan after the latest in a series of ethnic clashes claimed the lives of over 100 people.

Armed Lou Nuer tribesmen Sunday attacked civilians and the military in the village of Duk Padiet in Jonglei State. More then 1,000 people have died this year in ethnic violence between the Lou Nuer, Dinka Bor and Murle tribes.

'UNMIS (the UN peackeeping mission in Sudan) is quite concerned about this latest attack,' Kouider Zerrouk, deputy spokesperson for UNMIS, told DPA. 'The presence of a large quantity of weapons and the tension among tribes constitute a serious factor for further deterioration of the security situation.'

Tribal disputes, mainly over cattle, have long been common in autonomous Southern Sudan. Easy access to weapons left over from the civil war between the Muslim north and Christian and animist south has helped ramp up the body count.

A shift in the nature of the violence this year - which usually claim the lives of men guarding their cattle - has seen more women and children killed.